Thanya Netithamkul, chief of Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, told local media that park rangers heard elephants crying in the creek leading to the waterfall on Saturday morning.

Thanya said:

“Park officials rushed to the scene to find a baby elephant aged around three years drowned on the top layer of the waterfall. They also noticed two adult elephants, which were frantically trying to advance into the flowing water to save their young, looking extremely exhausted.”

“I have ordered the national park to close the area to tourists, and will find ways to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future.”

Elephants rely on large herds for protection and finding food. After the tragic incident, the two elephants left may now struggle to survive, Edwin Wiek, the founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said.

Due to the incident, the Haew Narok fall has been made off-limits, despite being a popular tourist attraction site in the region. The waterfall has three tiers, the largest at over 262 feet, and is the biggest waterfall in Khao Yai National Park.

National Resources and Environment minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, said such incidences are quite common in the park, with eight elephants dying at the waterfall in 1992.

Thailand is home to approximately 7,000 Asian elephants, although more than half of these “world’s largest wild animals” live in captivity.

According to Save Elephant Foundation, in Sri Lanka, about 60 elephants were tamed to take part in a Buddhist festival in Kandy in August.

The animal charity also shared pictures of an emaciated elephant called Tikiri, who was repeatedly made to parade across the streets for 10 nights during Esala Perahera.

Six wild elephants found dead at "Haew Narok Waterfall" in Thailand, at the same place where it happened as well in 1992. pic.twitter.com/naXD9ubttP